NFL begins distributing officiating crew assignments, showing progress on new CBA

Referees talk on the field after a fight between the Washington Commanders and the Philadelphia Eagles during the second half at Northwest Stadium.

The NFL and NFL Referees Association appear to be making progress toward a new collective bargaining agreement. Amber Searls / Imagn Images

April 30, 2026 10:33 am EDT

Signs continue to point toward the nearing completion of a new collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and NFL Referees Association.

The NFL this week distributed crew assignments to referees, and none of those working assignments included replacement game officials, a source briefed on the matter said, confirming an ESPN report on the matter.

Negotiators and leaders for the two sides have met on a regular basis and continue to make progress toward a deal after nearly two years of fruitless talks and a bleak picture painted by both sides earlier this offseason.

The current deal — a six-year pact agreed to in 2019 — expires on May 31. After talks stalled earlier this spring, the NFL began making contingency plans to ensure that a potential lack of an agreement would not impact the start of the 2026 season. League officials began onboarding replacement officials — referees that had worked in the college ranks — for medical examinations and training sessions. The NFL also had sent a memo to teams instructing them to expect to have replacement officials working minicamps and offseason practice sessions beginning June 1 in the event that the league and NFLRA failed to reach a deal by May 31.

NFL brass believed it imperative to give the replacement officials as long a training window as possible rather than waiting until just before the start of the preseason to begin hiring and training them.

However, despite taking steps toward preparing the replacement referees, talks resumed between the NFL and NFLRA. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and son Stephen Jones, Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt and Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Joel Glazer took part in a meeting in early April. Following that meeting, a memo was issued to teams to update them on positive strides toward a deal.

The NFL and NFLRA had been at odds on various issues including annual compensation increases, evaluation tools that the NFL wanted to implement, probationary periods and the timeline for offseason training windows.

At the league meetings in March, owners approved a measure that would allow for replacement game officiating crews to receive assistance from the game-day command center, and allow for the command center to correct clear and obvious calls made on the field. However, that approval may wind up being irrelevant if the NFL and referees union reach a deal that ensures veteran officiating crews are in action by the start of the season.

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Apr 30, 2026